The latest car in Steve’s...
The latest car in Steve’s stable is a ’27 roadster with a rear-mounted Buick straight-eight engine. The car made its debut just inside the main entrance to the 2010 Detroit Autorama, and its rear-steer layout stopped everyone in their tracks.
I f beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then so too is perception. The way one person feels when they view a piece of art will probably be different from the next person, but the fact that the piece of art exists to be interpreted at all is because an artist chose to create it.
Steve Grimes, based in Westerville, Ohio, is a 72-year-old artist who doesn’t work in oils or acrylics—his medium is rolling art sculpture. Style, shape, and symmetry are all facets of design Steve takes into consideration when working on a project, which more often than not starts with what is the linchpin of each car: a cowl. From there he makes cardboard mock-ups of the shapes he dreams up and, with help from a long list of friends, goes about making the parts and building the cars.
The six cars he’s built over the last 16 years have moved from the look of a traditional dry lakes modified to more of a whimsical (or some might say extreme) appearance. He’s given and applied a name to each car (making it look like a low-buck sponsorship from the local roadhouse) and the choice of drivetrain and its location is usually a departure from the norm as well. They run the gamut from a four-banger Crosley to a Chrysler Hemi, with two of them having the engines mounted behind the centerline of the rear wheels.
Steve says he has 10 more cars in his head to build, but he thinks his “roadster phase” is now over and the next one will be a center-door T. Steve knows the cars he builds aren’t for everyone, but good art usually isn’t. It takes the removal of pre-conceived ideas of what something should be plus an appreciation of what the inspiration was to create it. Art is usually created to move you or to make you think, and we believe you can do both quite easily after seeing one of Steve Grimes’ rolling art pieces.
[#52 O’Bannon’s Road House]...
[#52 O’Bannon’s Road House] The first car Steve built (back in 1995) had its chassis welded up by the late-Dave Gale. The suspension includes quarter-elliptical springs and friction shocks front and rear, and the front half of a ’27 Ford Touring body that was narrowed 12 inches. The wheelbase is dialed in at 100 inches.
The engine is a ’72 Ford Capri...
The engine is a ’72 Ford Capri 2.8L V-6, left stock but dressed up with paint. Not a lot of motor but, with 120 hp, more than enough to push this car around.
Harvey West at A-Auto Upholstery...
Harvey West at A-Auto Upholstery stitched up the black pleated bench seat. Stewart-Warner gauges are up on the dash along with a steering wheel from Speedway Motors.
Fred Abraham from Abe’s Auto...
Fred Abraham from Abe’s Auto Body added the PPG gray paint with Robbie Pyle adding the graphics. The wheels are 16-inchers from a ’35 Ford, wrapped in Firestone 6.00-16s and LT235/85-16 Goodyears.
[#71 Acme Beer Wagon] Also...
[#71 Acme Beer Wagon] Also built on a 100-inch wheelbase, this one features welding from Jim Anthony. Quarter-elliptic springs and friction shocks are used on this one front and rear, too, and Steve made his own Whippet-inspired grille shell.
For the car to be as narrow...
For the car to be as narrow as possible, Steve used a ’49 Crosley motor to save space. With only 44 ci of displacement, we don’t think Steve will be winning any quarter-mile races with it, but it wasn’t built for speed.
The fiberglass Speedway Motors...
The fiberglass Speedway Motors ’23 body was narrowed 14 inches to get the shape he wanted, which means the cockpit is especially tight. A ’70s-era steering wheel is centered in the cut-down dash and pertinent gauges are mounted under the column on a homebuilt plate that also houses the master cylinders. Harvey West at A-Auto Upholstery also did this interior for Steve.
Model A 19-inch wheels and...
Model A 19-inch wheels and 4.50 and 6.50 Firestone rubber make the rollers and Tom at Glassburn Auto Body painted the ride with PPG red paint. Mick Lockhart then added all of the required graphics.
[#213 Bubbles LaRue] Dave...
[#213 Bubbles LaRue] Dave Gale was the welder on Steve’s third project, which shares a name with a burlesque performer in the 1948 film Here Comes Trouble. With a slightly longer wheelbase of 102 inches, this car continues with the I-beam axle, owner-built friction shocks, and quarter-elliptic spring design for the suspension.
A ’38 Ford V-8/60 gets the...
A ’38 Ford V-8/60 gets the Steve Grimes treatment, but the radiator and water pump are mounted under the turtle deck with the water running through the framerails.
A little wider than most of...
A little wider than most of his cars (it’s only narrowed 10 inches), this one also uses a fiberglass ’23 Ford body from Speedway Motors. Harvey West stitched up the black pleated interior and a trio of Stewart-Warner gauges let Steve know what’s going on.
Tom from Glassburn Auto Body...
Tom from Glassburn Auto Body also painted this ride, using a lavender PPG paint for the body and turtledeck. Mick Lockhart handled the “Blue Moon Burlesque House” graphics.
[#357 Palm Gardens] The first...
[#357 Palm Gardens] The first of the rear-engine vehicles, the late-Dave Gale also helped Steve with the welding on his ’27 roadster. The front uses a ’36 Dodge tube axle while the big headlights came off a ’31 Cadillac.
A ’48 Ford 288-inch Flathead...
A ’48 Ford 288-inch Flathead is topped with a faux blower and six-carb setup (a single carb is hidden inside). An 8-inch Ford was narrowed 16 inches and is located under the seat and uses a chain drive to twin rear sprockets. The radiator is located behind the seat.
With the shifter coming in...
With the shifter coming in through the back of the bench seat and a steering wheel laid out under the dash, the interior (again stitched by Harvey West of A-Auto Upholstery) looks sparse except for the four Classic Instruments gauges.
Painted PPG maroon by JR Hill...
Painted PPG maroon by JR Hill at CMP Inc., this roadster features the artwork of Robbie Pyle. Vintage Wheels 15- and 17-inch steelies are shod in 4.25/4.40 Michelin and 7.50 BFGoodrich hides.
[#65A Snuffy] About the only...
[#65A Snuffy] About the only conventional aspect, the next car to come from Steve is the location of the engine in relation to the rest of the car. Pat Brewer and Zack Sikola handled the welding on the roadster, which has a wheelbase of 100 inches.
The steel ’27 Ford Touring...
The steel ’27 Ford Touring body is narrowed 16 inches, allowing just enough room to get a big ’47 Chrysler Imperial steering wheel in place. Harvey West of A-Auto Upholstery stitched up the little red seat and a couple of Stewart-Warner gauges are tucked way back under the dash.
A combination radiator box...
A combination radiator box and gas tank is located behind the cockpit. Kahl’s Kustoms prepped the car before Jeff Kahl and Les Reedy squirted it with PPG blue paint. Jan Wisecarver lettered the artwork on the door and the O’Bannon’s name out back.
The most recent, and probably...
The most recent, and probably the most complicated, of the roadsters not only involved a rear-engine layout but a rear-steer system as well. Jimmy Stewart at Speed Metal Inc. and Jim Anthony aided Steve with the welding and chassis assembly on this unique ride, which started life as a steel ’27 Ford roadster. A Winters quick-change (assembled by Jeff Eischen) highlights the frontend, with the driveshaft running through the car’s nose.
A 320-cube Buick straight-eight...
A 320-cube Buick straight-eight was equipped with some owner-made intake and exhaust manifolds that use eight side-draft Honda motorcycle carbs to add the mix. To get a crossflow look, exhaust exits the head and runs through a set of tubes around the front of the engine and back into a custom box opposite the intake.
If you’ve driven a forklift...
If you’ve driven a forklift then you know what it’s like. Having just finished it, Steve has not had a lot of street time with this rear-steer setup, but we bet it’s a handful!
Those are big 20-inch ’27...
Those are big 20-inch ’27 Chevy wheels wrapped in Coker/Firestone 6.00 rubber.
Steve says he has a lot of...
Steve says he has a lot of old airplane gauges laying around the shop, so he used a 700-mph speedometer for the car.
Some of the gauges, like the...
Some of the gauges, like the water temp and oil pressure, are mounted in the armrests. Harvey West again came to the rescue and upholstered the interior using a coffee-colored pleat to create a rich look.
With the body narrowed 18...
With the body narrowed 18 inches, the interior is tight but, because it’s also rear-steer, it’s really tight! A lot of imagination went into routing the steering to make it work, too.